


Holding Out

by odd_stick (KrakenAntlers)



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Gen, M/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Pre-Relationship, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 22:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17476388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrakenAntlers/pseuds/odd_stick
Summary: Mirage makes it to Earth.





	Holding Out

**Author's Note:**

> **ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2010 and posted on both ff.net and LJ**  
> Characters/Pairings: Mirage, Hound, Autobot ensemble (Bayverse - PSP videogame version)  
> Universe: Bayverse 2007 (PSP videogame version – which is WAY different than the movie)  
> Warnings: Slightly AU (for the game and movie) and ANGST
> 
> Notes: Written for the LJ@houndxmirage Three's a Charm challenge (https://houndxmirage.livejournal.com/29665.html). Sections in italics are past events/memories.

“Easy there Mirage, I’ve got you.”

Mirage staggered, pedes slipping in the mud as he let Ratchet take more of his weight. The pouring rain turned to steam as soon as it landed on his still hot armor. The planet fall should have been easy and painless, but in his already injured and sorry state, Mirage’s protoform had been exposed to the intense heat and the incredible impact. Every joint ached and he trembled at the thought of scanning and inevitably transforming into a local vehicle. Luckily, Prime’s team had been there to meet him, giving him a beacon to aim for on the blue planet.

Shrapnel and sheared metal ground together in his hip and Mirage knew he wouldn’t be walking under his own power any time soon. His scanners were fritzing, and his HUD was persistently reporting failing systems and protocols, but that was nothing new. He had been on his own for too long, hiding and running from the Decepticons and taking a little more damage with every encounter.

Another set of hands grabbed him and he almost flinched away until he realized who it was. Bumblebee smiled up at Mirage and greeted him with a concerned chirr. “Thank you. Vocal processor still broken, Bee?” he asked even as his vents struggled to pull in enough cooling air.

“It’s a work in progress,” Ratchet grumbled as they finally broke over the lip of the crater Mirage’s landing had created. “Let’s get you loaded up and back to base so I can get started on your repairs. You look like you’ve been to the Pit and back.”

Mirage huffed out a quiet laugh. “I feel like I’ve been to the Pit. I only hope this isn’t a hallucination caused by one too many blows to my processor.”

“This is no dream, Mirage,” assured a calm and unforgettable voice. Raising his face to the falling rain, Mirage met Optimus’s optics with his own.

“Prime,” Mirage nearly whispered; reverence, fatigue, and relief evident in his voice. Gritting his denta against the pain, Mirage struggled to stand tall, even as he hands shook on the shoulders of his companions. “Optimus Prime, Sir. Autobot Mirage reporting for duty, Sir.”

“At ease, soldier.” Optimus smiled, the blue of his optics making the rain around his face glow. “It’s good to have you back with us Mirage.”

Easing the weight off of his worse leg, Mirage returned his commander’s smile. “It’s good to be back with you. All of you.” Following the gentle lead of Ratchet, Mirage limped over to the trailer that waited behind the Prime. “There were times, out there in the vast darkness, I thought I may have been the only Autobot left.”

 _::Well, you’re with us now. ::_ Bumblebee transmitted over their comms. _::And we have allies here, natives and Autobot alike.::_

“More Autobots? Who’s here? Is Hou--” Mirage cut himself off with a muffled scream. As Ratchet and Bumblebee had helped him to the floor of the trailer, something inside had finally given. A steady stream of energon leaked from his side; bright, viscous, and pulsing along with his sparkbeats.

A high pitched whine of dismay escaped Bumblebee as Ratchet immediately dove into action. His hands cupped the wound, adding pressure and running deep scans simultaneously. “Slag it all,” Ratchet growled. “Bee, get back to base and help the others prep the med bay. Let Lennox and his team know what’s going on so they’re in the loop.”

Bumblebee was already running out of the trailer, but he sent a wordless affirmative ping as he leapt into the air and transformed. Landing hard, his tires kicked up a shower of mud and detritus as he sped away into the night.

 _::Ratchet,::_ Optimus commed. _::I’m transformed and hooked up. Whenever you’re ready.::_

Mirage’s optics flickered as he fought to stay online. His engine stuttered when Ratchet grabbed his hands and placed them over the bleeding wound. “Keep pressure on it,” Ratchet ordered before getting up, quickly pulling the trailer’s door down, and returning to Mirage’s side. His knees slipped around in the growing puddle of energon, but he had worked in worse conditions.

_::Ready. Get us back fast, Prime. I really don’t want to have to open him up out here.::_

An affirmative ping and then they were off, tires sliding through the mud as Optimus struggled to get them back on the road then to their base. Mirage laid back and stared at the ceiling of the trailer as Ratchet dug into his side, desperately searching for the broken line.

When they finally hit the road, the somewhat smoother ride and loss of energon lulled Mirage into a place of waking dreams and remembered nightmares.

~”~”~”~”~

“Is he going to be okay?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Yes, but it will be slow going. There was already a lot of damage from before his landing, some of it half healed wrong or festering.” Ratchet ran a cycle of air through his intakes loudly. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on him, but he’s a fighter. He’ll pull through.”

Bumlebee’s chirps, clicks, and whirrs cheerfully agreed and the unfamiliar voice responded, “Good to hear. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

~”~”~”~”~

_They met in the most mundane way possible; bumping into each other. Granted, Mirage had been invisible at the time, and Hound had his head and sensors down, following a practice trail that Jazz had set up for him._

_Hound fell back, gingerly rubbing his forehelm. “What the--?” he asked the supposedly thin air until it shimmered in front of his optics. A tall, streamlined mech appeared before Hound, sprawled out on his aft with a scowl on his face._

_“Woah! Sorry for bumping into you like that. I’ve never met anyone that could turn invisible, but I guess I still should have been paying better attention on where I was going.” Hound grinned and offered the fallen mech a hand up._

_The blue and white mech looked at the offered hand dubiously before finally, and hesitantly accepting it. “Thank you.” The mysterious mech took a moment to dust himself off before returning his attention to Hound. “What were you doing wondering around with your head to the deck like that anyway?”_

_Hound couldn’t help the warm brush of embarrassment that washed over him. Way to make a first impression! “I specialize in tracking. Jazz set up a practice run for me.” Hound’s optics slid down to the floor, sensors sweeping over the trail he’d been following. “Hey! I think I was tracking you!”_

_“What? Me? Why me?” the mech asked even as he took a few step back. Hound followed, grinning down at the trail._

_“Yep, definitely you. Hah! I win this round Jazz,” Hound laughed. He grinned at his newly found object of pursuit. “So, what’s your designation?”_

_“Mirage. And I’m going to kill Jazz,” he growled before stomping past Hound._

_“What? Why?”_

_“Because he was the one that sent me on a practice run of my own, which he then set me up to fail. I was not supposed to be seen or caught, and you’ve done both!”_

_Hound jogged to catch up with Mirage, and grabbed his wrist, halting the angry tirade for a moment. “Hey, it’s okay! Look, we can work this out. Why don’t I help you out with the rest of your mission? No one else has seen you yet, right?”_

_Hastily looking around the empty hall, Mirage nodded before cloaking himself again. Hound shuttered his optics a few times, trying to sort out the conflicting information that his sensors and optics were sending him. Still holding onto the invisible wrist, Hound tugged Mirage back the way they had come. “I bet Jazz didn’t count on us teaming up together. I’m Hound, by the way.”_

~”~”~”~”~

“Any news on Ironhide’s team?” Ratchet asked.

“Not yet. They’re still under radio silence.”

“You know what they say, Optimus. No news is good news.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself, friend.” A span of companionable silence, and then, “How is he progressing?”

~”~”~”~”~

_“Stay safe.” Warm hands gently grasped his forearms._

_“I will. It’s just a quick in-and-out. Strictly recon. I’ll be back before you know it.”_

_“I’m still allowed to worry.” Mirage turned to go, but Hound’s hold stalled him for a moment longer. “Mirage?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“When you get back…I’ve got something to tell you.”_

_Mirage raised his hands and gently cupped his friend’s face. “When I get back, I’ve got something to tell you, too.” The timid smile widened into denta baring grin, and Mirage saw no reason not to steal a quick kiss before turning away. He threw a last look and wave over his shoulder as he called out, “I’ll see you when I get back!”_

_Unfortunately, the mission had gone horribly wrong. By the time Mirage was able to make his way back, their stronghold was a maze of rubble that had long been abandoned._

~”~”~”~

Mirage shuttered his optics slowly, letting his optical sensors realign and adjust to his surroundings. He was in an unfamiliar medbay, and that might have concerned him if he hadn’t felt so good. All the hurts and pains that had been ailing him for so long were finally gone or at the very least on the mend. His HUD reported all systems green or close to it.

The scuffle of shifting metal drew his attention. Mirage turned his helm, joints and pistons still slow to respond after so long under. A tired, but elated smile graced his face when he recognized the face of his bedside companion. “Trailbreaker!”

The bulky mech returned the grin and shifted forward to take Mirage’s grasping hand in his own. “Mirage. It’s great to finally see you awake. We were afraid we’d lose you there a couple of times.”

“You should know how tenacious I can be when I set my mind to it. Primus…” Mirage struggled to speak past the tightening of his throat. Too many emotions were threatening to bubble up to the surface. “It’s been ages Trailbreaker. I had no idea you were here. How are you? Who else is here?”

Trailbreaker’s smiled faded slightly, but his grip on Mirage’s hand never loosened. “Aside from the three you met, Ironhide came in with Prime and Wheeljack, Sideswipe, and Hoist came in a little after that.”

Mirage seemed to sink into himself, and his smile faded. “That’s all? Do we know of any others off world? Who else is alive?”

“No recent news. It takes time for information to travel those kinds of distances, and even then we can’t always be sure that the information is accurate.” Trailbreaker scooted closer. He scrubbed his face with his free hand, but didn’t raise his optics when he quietly said, “Mirage…there’s something else I need to tell you.”

Mirage shuttered his optics, leaving them offline for a moment as he collected himself. His free hand strayed to his chest, betraying him. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Trailbreaker looked up sharply, surprise on his face for a split second until it morphed into a kind of resigned sadness. “Yes. We made it to Earth, following on Optimus’s heels. He and I were sent on a mission, and…he didn’t make it.”

The following silence was thick and Trailbreaker couldn’t even meet Mirage’s optics. The slender hand in his grip flexed and tightened its hold. “I never even knew if he’d made it off Cybertron, let alone lived past the destruction of our base. If I’d just been a little more cautious, a little faster, I could have been here earlier. I—”

Mirage cut himself off. He curled in on himself, holding the sobs in as he felt his spark shatter. All this time, he’d told himself there was only an infinitesimal chance that Hound could have survived this long, but all that time, the innermost part of him had hoped and believed that they would be reunited.

Entire body shaking with the effort to keep from falling apart and screaming until his vocal processor ruptured, Mirage barely noticed when Trailbreaker knelt on the edge of the berth and wrapped his arms around him. Trailbreaker hugged Mirage close, rocking him gently as his sobs grew.

Mirage felt like the world was dropping out from under him, white streaked his vision, and the constant litany that filled his processor was, _He’s dead; I never got to tell him how much I loved him._


End file.
